The Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, has praised Barcelona fullback Dani Alves after his reaction to a banana being thrown at him during victory over Villarreal on Sunday.

Alves picked up the fruit, peeled it back and took a bite before carrying on.

In statements posted on her official Twitter account, Rousseff described Alves' actions as "a brave and strong response to racism in sport". The President said that Brazil would "champion the fight against racism in sport" during the football World Cup, and she used the hashtag "#CopaContraORacismo" (World Cup against racism).

"We are going to show that our strength in football, and in life, comes from our ethnic diversity and that we are proud of it", she explained.